EVALUATION OF THE ALBICANS ID(R) PLATE METHOD FOR THE RAPID IDENTIFICATION OF CANDIDA-ALBICANS

Albicans ID(R) is a ready-to-use medium containing a hexosaminic subst rate that allows rapid and specific identification of Candida albicans . In this study, we have evaluated its performance using 330 pure cult ures of yeast strains previously identified by conventional mycologica l methods. The test correctly identified all the Candida albicans stra ins tested (186 isolates), but there were 28 false-positive reactions after 48 h of culture incubation. The false-positive isolates correspo nded to the species Candida tropicalis (13 strains), Trichosporon beig elii (12 strains), Cryptococcus neoformans (one strain), Candida lusit aniae (one strain) and Candida membranaefaciens (one strain). The sens itivity of the method was 100% and the specificity was 90.3% at 24 h a nd 86.6% at 48 h of incubation. Albicans ID(R) plate is a new, easy-to -perform and inexpensive method for C. albicans identification, and it could be used for direct isolation and identification of this species from clinical samples.